sight arose from darkness； longed to return to Allah’s blackness by
means of color。 Artists without memory neither remember Allah nor his
blackness。 All great masters； in their work； seek that profound void within
color and outside time。 Let me explain to you what it means to remember this
darkness； which was revealed in Herat by the great masters of old。
85
Three Stories on Blindness and Memory
ALIF
In Lami’i Chelebi’s Turkish translation of the Persian poet Jami’s Gifts of
Intimacy； which addresses the stories of the saints； it is written that in the
bookmaker’s workshop of Jihan Shah； the ruler of the Blacksheep nation； the
renowned master Sheikh Ali Tabrizi had illustrated a magnificent version of
Hüsrev and Shirin。 According to what I’ve heard； in this legendary manuscript；
which took eleven years to plete； the master of master miniaturists；
Sheikh Ali； displayed such talent and skill and painted such wonderful pictures
that only the greatest of the old masters； Bihzad； could have matched him。
Even before the illuminated manuscript was half finished； Jihan Shah knew
that he would soon possess a spectacular book without equal in all the world。
He thus lived in fear and jealousy of young Tall Hasan； the ruler of the
Whitesheep nation； and declared him his archenemy。 Moreover； Jihan Shah
quickly sensed that though his prestige would grow immensely after the book
was pleted； an even better version of the manuscript could be made for
Tall Hasan。 Being one of those truly jealous men who po